Little Bat: The Missing Year
by Reese M
Summary: This story covers the year jump between the last two chapters of Little Bat. Selina Gordon is the daughter of Barbara Gordon but for the first ten years of her life she was raised by Harley Quinn. This is how Selina, Barbara and the Birds of Prey deal with the huge change in their lives that this kid brings with her.
1. Chapter 1

June

New Gotham was at it's most stunning at night, but as Barbara sat on the Clocktower's balcony with her coffee in hand, she figured the mornings weren't so bad either. Especially after the night they'd just had. As she sipped at the slightly sweetened by flavored cream drink nestled between her hands, her mind zipped over the last few months. Tracking a theft ring that was targeting children's objects, discovering the thieves were children, discovering one of those children was her own biological daughter, watching the girl struggle and fight just to find out that Harley Quinn had, among other things, messed with her mind. Weeks of trying to bond with her daughter, a bright, intelligent little girl with hair as red as her own, eyes just as green, and a wild spirit all her own, had all boiled down to what felt like an eternity in the rain. Barbara had been in almost the exact spot she was in now as she'd tried to keep her daughter from jumping into the New Gotham night. A termination protocol, Leslie had called it, buried deep in her little girl's mind. If Barbara ever saw Harley Quinn again, she'd show the sociopath the real meaning of termination protocol.

"Did you get any sleep?" Helena asked as she stepped out into the early morning sunlight.

Barbara turned her head towards the younger woman, watching for a few moments as Helena ran her hand through her bed rumpled hair. Her young protégé, the young woman she'd taken in as an angry teenager and who'd come to be a younger sister to Barbara, had unknowingly helped Quinn. Again. Helena had taken her daughter, behind Barbara's back, to see Quinn while Barbara was speaking to her at Arkham. It had given Quinn the chance she needed to trigger the subliminal command that nearly drove Barbara's little girl over the edge, literally. But Helena had only been trying to help. She understood the kind of confusion and anger her daughter was dealing with in a way that Barbara couldn't. "A couple of hours maybe."

Helena nodded her understanding as she came over to sit on the stone ledge at Barbara's feet. "Spent the rest of the night watching over your little mini you?"

"Yeah," Barbara nodded with a tired sigh. "I was half afraid that if I closed my eyes for even a second she'd be back out here trying to…" She just couldn't finish the thought. It hurt too much. The image of her daughter standing on the gargoyle's head in her nightgown and bare feet ready to plummet to her death would be a painful memory for the rest of Barbara's life.

"That John guy made sure that wouldn't happen again." Helena cut in as she placed a reassuring hand on Barbara's thigh.

"I know." Barbara replied. She couldn't feel Helena's hand, it's warmth or it's weight on her thigh, but the sight of it was comforting nonetheless. "It's going to be awhile before I shake this feeling though."

Helena nodded in understanding. She wasn't sure she'd ever shake hers either. She hadn't felt that scared in years, or this guilty. A somewhat comfortable silence fell between them, both knowing that they needed to talk about what happened, neither sure where to start. Finally Helena began, "Barbara, I'm really sorry. I never meant to hurt you or Selina." There were tears welling in her eyes. It meant so much to her that Barbara had renamed her daughter after her mother. "I should have talked to you, but I knew you'd say no way in hell, and I just had this deep down instinct that I couldn't explain."

Barbara was quiet. She looked at Helena for a moment and then down into the depths of her coffee mug. She trusted Helena's instincts, but could she do it when it came to her daughter? Barbara was use to making decisions for other people, she'd done it for both Helena and Dinah, but they'd both been teens when she got them. They could think and do for themselves more then Selina could, the girl was only ten. Barbara would be making a lot of choices for her, even more then normal until the child was settled. Her mind flashed back to a conversation she'd had with Dinah's mother. "You can't do what we do and be a mother." Carolyn had said. Her reply had been to point out that maybe Dinah needed more of a mentor then a mother, but according to Dinah at some point Barbara had become both to her. Selina was going to need that, she was going to need a mother and a mentor, and although she could cover both, there were things Helena would have to show her since the girl had been genetically laced with Helena's powers. That meant that Barbara would have to trust the younger woman with Selina, and why shouldn't she? She trusted Helena with her own life as well as Dinah's.

"Things are going to be different, Helena." Barbara finally said. "Until now all the choices we've made have only affected us. I trust you," She paused to reach out and brush at Helena's unruly hair, "I always have. We're a family and I want you and Dinah to be huge parts of Selina's life. I couldn't imagine raising her without you. But I need you to come to me before you just react, even if I don't listen, if I don't see the point you're trying to make, you have to keep me in the loop. I'm her mother."

Helena suddenly felt like she was seventeen again and getting chewed out for staying out late. Barbara had this way of yelling at you without actually raising her voice. "I was just trying to help, Barbara."

"I know, and you did." Barbara replied. "And yes, I would have said no, but maybe just at first. If you had come to me, talked to me, gone to Leslie and double teamed me." She sighed as she ran her fingers through her long red hair. "I don't know. Maybe even than I'd have said no. I most likely would have." She paused for a moment to order her thoughts and emotions. "We're going to have to be in this as a team, Helena. She's going to take us on a roller coaster ride, and we need to be on it as a team. She's going to try to divide and concur at some point, and we need to be able to stand together. She's going to need a routine, a lot of normality, and a lot of patience, and love, and understanding."

"You've been reading parenting books again." Helena teased to lighten the mood.

Barbara smiled. "A few, and some Internet sites, but mostly I'm remembering what it was like for you when you first came to live with me."

"You think this is gonna be the same?" Helena asked. "Lots of anger and lashing out?"

"Yes," Barbara answered honestly. " And no. Selina's younger, and I think that will be a factor in things. The circumstances are similar in other ways though. For all intents and purposes she lost the only mother she's ever known until now, so some of the traumas are nearly the same. The loss of one family, the adjustment to a new one, dealing with the truth about your life; but there's also neglect and emotional and physiological abuse, maybe physical we just don't know yet. That changes the game. The stuff Quinn did, it's unimaginable, and yet here we are faced with its aftermath."

Helena nodded her head as if she were following Barbara's train of thought, which she was. They'd been together so long they knew how the other worked. "You can do this, Barbara. You helped me when my mom was killed; you helped Dinah after that mess with the Redmonds and Black Canary. You have some pretty unique experiences to draw from."

Barbara nodded her head, her gaze drifting out over the city once again. "I suppose you have a point."

"I've been known to have a serious thought from time to time." Helena replied with a playful smirk.

Barbara smiled softly at her former ward turned chosen sister. The two of them sat in silence, each lost in their own thoughts, but grateful to have the other so close. The silence was broken when Helena moaned as she stood, causing Barbara to laugh. "Getting old, Hel?"

"Hell yeah." The dark haired woman smirked as she stretched out. "You coming in soon?" She asked as she headed towards the door.

Barbara nodded. "In a bit."

"Okay, if I'm not here, I've gone shopping so if you need me just call." Helena said as she paused just inside the door.

"New coat to replace the one that barf guy ruined?" Barbara laughed. Even after all these years Dinah still had a knack for naming bad guys, and in the moment she was grateful for the chance to lighten her mood a bit.

Helena growled. "Now that you bring it up I do need a new coat, but no, if we're gonna be prepared then we're gonna need every single season of the Super Nanny I can find on DVD."

That made Barbara really laugh. "Better get the English seasons too."

"Oh you can count on it." Helena laughed. "There won't be a thing we don't know about naughty steps."

Her head felt really weird and it made Selina edgy as she awoke to the singing birds outside the window. Is this how adults felt when they were hung-over? If it was, the girl was pretty sure she was never going to drink. Slowly peeling one eye open she looked around, feeling disorientated until it slowly began to dawn on her where she was, Barbara's room.

Barbara's room was big and airy, with lots of light, too much light for this early in the morning. Groaning she pulled the blankets over her head to block out the world. For a moment she felt safe as she snuggled into the pillows and blankets that smelled of Barbara, her soaps and shampoo, and that smell that is just uniquely that person. She took a deep breath and relaxed, but then slowly the night before, the day before came trickling back to her. As it all played out in her mind, Selina began to shake. She remembered the trip to Arkham and hearing Harley tell Barbara the truth. That she'd been born just so Harley Quinn could destroy Barbara Gordon because Barbara had once been Batgirl, and Batgirl had once helped Batman destroy the Joker.

For ten years, her whole life, Selina had thought Harley was her mother, and for the past five she'd trained to do whatever 'Mother' had wanted her to do. She'd thought that that was to fight Barbara and the others, to destroy them, kill them even, but it turned out Harley had planned on killing her in front of Barbara after using her as nothing more then a foot solider. Why would someone do that?

Everything Selina knew was a lie, a taunt, a way to hurt Barbara and the others. Her name, Little Harley, had been just another way to stick it to them in some way. Her sister Duela who really was Quinn's daughter wasn't really her sister. Barbara, Helena, and Dinah weren't the evil people she'd been told they were, Quinn was the evil one, Quinn who had used her as if she were a toy rather then a real live kid. Quinn had never loved her, but Selina had loved Quinn, and despite everything a part of her still did. After all, Quinn had been the only mother Selina had ever known until now. She felt lost and alone, and as the shock of it all washed over her she shook more, pulling the blankets tightly around her Selina silently sobbed into Barbara's pillow.

The first thing to catch Barbara's attention as she came into her bedroom was the sound of crying. Wheeling over to the bed she noticed the vibration of the lump under her comforter. Carefully pulling the covers away her heart broke at the sight of Selina curled up and shaking. "Oh, baby." She said softly as she easily transferred herself from her chair to the bed. She quickly gathered the girl up in her arms and held her tightly. "It's alright, Selina. It's going to be all right. I promise."

Selina was too lost in her thoughts and emotions to do anything but allow Barbara to hold her. She wanted to scream, to yell, to push her away and tell her to leave her the hell alone, but she couldn't. She wanted to cuddle back, she wanted to tell her what she was feeling, she wanted to feel safe in this woman's arms, but she couldn't. Nothing made sense anymore. She was drowning and the best she could do was cling to this woman enough to keep from sinking any further under the tide.

"Good morning, Alfred." Dinah yawned as she walked into the penthouse's kitchen. Blinking away sleep, she looked around before plopping into a chair at the table. "No one else up yet?"

Alfred quickly prepared a cup of coffee for Dinah exactly the way she liked it and then placed it in front of her. "Good morning Miss. Dinah." He returned her greeting before answering her question. "Ms. Barbara has been up for hours, she just went in to check on Miss. Selina. Miss. Helena's in the shower."

"Really?" Dinah looked surprised. "How'd I miss the off key singing when I walked past?"

The old Englishman smirked. "Perhaps you weren't yet awake."

"Hmmm." Dinah mused. "You're right, need coffee." After taking several sips from her mug, Dinah sighed and then smiled. "So, everything ok this morning?"

"If you mean is everything ok with Miss. Selina, I don't know." Alfred admitted as he gathered ingredients to make omelets. "She hasn't gotten up yet."

"Everything was pretty quiet last night after we all went to bed." Dinah said softly. "I don't think any of us got much sleep. I kept getting up to listen, in case she like had nightmares, or decided to take another balcony walk, or if she like… you know… tried to…"

"Hurt Barbara?" Selina said giving voice to the fear Dinah couldn't bring herself to say.

Dinah jumped, spinning around in her chair to see Selina standing in the doorway. "I, well, um..."

"Don't worry, I'd have come for you first." Selina replied as she made her way towards the table. "Always take out the telepaths and telekinetics first. You'd have been screwed either way."

"Selina." Barbara scolded as she followed her daughter into the kitchen. She'd held Selina until the girl was calm enough to say she was hungry. It seemed to have helped; Selina was a lot calmer now then she was when Barbara first went into the bedroom.

The girl didn't reply she just slid into her seat at the table, plopping her elbows on the table so she could rub her temples. She had a raging headache and that always made her extra grumpy.

"Good morning Miss. Selina." Alfred greeted cheerily but softly. He highly approved of the girl's name change, and it made him smile even more when she looked up at him and gave him a small smile in return.

"Mornin' Alfred." Selina replied as she switched to rubbing her forehead, and then her eyes with the heels of her hands.

Alfred frowned. "Are you not felling well?"

She shook her head. "I feel like someone stuck my head in a jar of cotton balls and then hit the jar with something."

"That's from the sedative Leslie gave you last night." Barbara told her as she wheeled into her own place at the head of the table. "Your head will clear soon and the headache will go away, I promise"

"Then you'll just feel like shit all day." Helena added to the conversation as she joined everyone. "I hate that stuff. It's made to work with our meta healing but it leaves you feeling like crap when you wake up as a nasty little side effect."

Selina looked up and blinked. "You drugged me? Again!"

Barbara could see the anger flash in Selina's eyes and held out a hand to stop the rising outburst. "Leslie gave you something to help you sleep, that's all."

The girl crossed her arms over her chest and huffed. "She didn't ask."

"You're ten," Helena replied before Barbara could. "She didn't have to. Besides, you were really out of it last night."

Selina stared daggers at Helena. It scared her to know that she could do something she didn't really want to do because of something in her head. It made her feel powerless and she hated that. "Don't do it again." Selina hissed as her hands balled into fists.

"No promises." Helena replied. "It was for your own good and there was no real harm done. You might have ended up hurting yourself last night if we hadn't."

"Drug me again and I could end up hurting you." Selina warned. She felt so out of control of herself that she didn't know what do. A tiny new part of her was telling her to trust, but the larger part of her was telling her to fight.

Barbara just watched in amazement. Five minutes ago Selina had been a shaking, fragile, scared little girl. Now she was suddenly an angry child with claws. Sighing inwardly she steeled herself for what she knew was going to be some difficult times. "Alright you two knock it off."

"She started it." Selina growled. "But I'll finish it."

"Did not." Helena replied. "And I'd like to see you try."

"Ok, so now we have two snarky grumps to deal with in the mornings." Dinah added, trying to break the tension.

"But out!" Both Selina and Helena said together. The two looked at each other for a long moment and then suddenly started to laugh. Barbara and Dinah both looked shock at the sudden change while Alfred just smiled.

As breakfast went on, the tension that had entered the room with Selina began to diminish. The uncomfortable silence that had followed Helena and Selina's laughing fit, soon gave way to easy morning banter, but Selina could still feel everyone walking on egg shells. She wondered if it was always going to be like this. Were they all going to walk around waiting for her to explode and go psycho like Quinn? What would happen to her if she did loose her mind and end up like Quinn? Would they put her in a glass box in that Arkham place too?

"Selina," Barbara called out, "Earth to Selina."

The girl's head snapped up. "What?" She'd been caught off guard because she'd been lost in thought so she quickly tried to cover her lack of focus. "Sorry, forgot that's me now."

Barbara smiled softly. "It's alright, sweetie." She paused a moment to think about what it must be like to suddenly have a different name before adding, "If you want us to go back to…"

"NO!" Selina cut in. "No," She repeated in a much softer voice. "I don't ever want to be called that again."

"Alright." Barbara replied with a soft reassuring smile. "Leslie will be here in an hour, sweetheart. If you're finished why don't you go ahead and shower and change, ok?"

Selina slipped out of her chair as she shrugged. "Yeah, sure whatever."

Leslie sat in the chair across from Selina who was curled into the end of the couch. The girl hadn't said much, opting to sit and listen as Leslie spoke with Barbara. After asking for some privacy with Selina, Leslie made a mental note to speak with Barbara as well. She could already see the uneasiness in regards to having Selina out of her sight. They'd need to work on that if any of them were going to have normal ties. Leaning forward she smiled softly, "How are you feeling this morning, Selina?"

Selina shrugged. "You drugged me, now I feel like crap."

"Did the drug help you sleep?" Leslie asked, ignoring the hiss in the child's voice.

"I guess so." Selina replied. "Had a weird dream about a green man and a black box, but no nightmares or nothing."

"That's good." Leslie replied. "You needed your rest." She paused a moment and then said, "Selina; that's a pretty name. Do you like it?"

There was just the faintest hint of a smile on the girl's face but she quickly tried to hide it and then shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so. Barbara says it's my name now." There was a bit of a pause and then Selina added, "It's a good name I guess." The soft barely there smile was back for a flicker of a moment. "I have a middle name too, and a last name. Before I was just Little Harley."

"What's your middle name?" Leslie asked.

"Carolyn." The girl replied. "Barbara said that Selina was Helena's mom's name and Carolyn was Dinah's mom's name, and that they were good people, and now they're like angels or something."

"I knew them both." Leslie said easily. "They were both good women even though they sometimes did bad things."

Selina was still and silent for a moment and then said, "If they really are like guardian angels maybe they can help me be good too."

Leslie titled her head a little. "You're afraid you won't be good?"

Selina chewed on her lip for a moment. Then she said, "I wasn't made to be. I was made to be bad, like Harley, I was made to hurt people, to hurt Barbara."

"Do you still want to hurt people?" Leslie asked carefully. "Do you still want to hurt Barbara?"

Selina was quiet for a moment before looking over Leslie's shoulder and out the window. "No." She said softly and then added, "But I don't know how to be a normal kid. I'll end up hurting them anyway."

"What do you think normal kids do?" Leslie asked as she watched Selina and the way her body moved as she listened to her questions and answered them.

"I don't know." Selina replied honestly. "Mother…" She flinched. She couldn't call Quinn that anymore. It no longer felt right, now it kind of hurt to say it. "Quinn," She said instead since that's what Barbara called her, "always said why be normal when you could be special. But I wasn't special either."

Leslie pretended not to see the girl wipe a tear away. They talked for another half hour or so until Leslie noticed Selina was getting angry and when her eyes shifted to feline Leslie decided to end the session. They had enough to deal with without introducing Selina's meta abilities into the mix. Leslie left Selina in the living room to talk to Barbara in the kitchen. When Helena walked in Selina was pacing the room like a caged cat. She watched the girl for a moment and then said, "Come on kid lets go."

"Where?" Selina snapped at her as she spun to look at the dark haired woman.

"Upstairs." Helena replied as she went to the hidden elevator that led to the Clocktower.

Selina hesitated but then followed Helena upstairs and into the training room. She hadn't been allowed in there at all until now and as she looked around she had to admit she was impressed.

"I don't think Barbara wants you doing anything like combat." Helena said as she began to set up some of the gymnastic equipment. "But I think this will be ok. You ever do gymnastics?"

"I don't know." Selina replied. "I did agility stuff." She looked at the stuff Helena was setting up and said, "I've used those before." She pointed to the uneven bars. "And that beam thing." She pointed to the high beam.

Helena smiled. "That's a good start. I was just a little younger then you when I started gymnastics." She explained as she took off her hoodie and tossed it aside. "I was a huge ball of energy and my Mom and Barbara figured it would be a good way for me to use some of it up while at the same time learning about my powers."

"You had powers as a kid?" Selina asked. "You knew Barbara back then?"

"I had the early signs of powers." Helena replied. "I was a little stronger then most kids my age, more agile and wiry, and didn't seem to get hurt as easily. And yes, I've known Barbara all my life. She and my mom were friends and she knew my dad too."

Selina blinked at that. She'd never had a dad. Quinn had told her that the Joker was her dad, but he wasn't. She knew how babies were made so she obviously had a father and for a moment she wondered who he might be, but only for a moment. She already had way too much on her mind to even consider another new person in her life. These three were going to be enough to deal with for a while.

Helena saw the play of emotion and quickly cut in. "Lets see what you got. I'm not as good a couch as Barbara but I can mange."

"Barbara did gymnastics?" Selina asked as she slipped off her shoes and walked over to the uneven bars.

"She hasn't always been in that chair." Helena replied. "She won medals for gymnastics and marshal arts when she was a kid. She was hell on a bike too." She chuckled at that. Barbara had been a bit of a wild cat back in her youth. "My mom use to tell me stories about Barbara as a teenager. Some where pretty hard to believe given how straight laced she is now."

"She was Batgirl." Selina said simply as she jumped up and grabbed the highest bar.

Helena nodded. "Yeah, she was." Before Selina could say anything else she added, "Ok, lets see what you know."

Barbara watched from the doorway as Helena and Selina worked out. Part of her mind was watching Selina's form and technique and was impressed by it. She was a little rough in actual technique but she had the underlying ability. She had no doubt that Selina would excel at all kinds of athletics, which would be good outlets for her. A bigger part of her however was a mother watching her child and wondering how she was going to help Selina through this. The girl had so much ahead of her but at least she wouldn't have to go through it alone. Barbara would be there for her no matter what, and she knew that Helena and Dinah, and Alfred would be too. It wasn't going to be easy but Barbara knew it would be well worth it.


	2. Chapter 2

New Gotham was really different during the day. It was almost normal. The people walking it's streets soaking in the warm summer sun, laughing and talking, going about their daily lives had no idea, no clue, that New Gotham wasn't what it seemed once the sun went down. Selina watched them as she walked beside Alfred as he did the shopping. She licked at her vanilla and chocolate soft serve ice cream cone and wondered would these people be so willing to walk down the street so carefree and easily if they knew the truth? New Gotham was full of dangerous shadows that came to life when they all went to bed.

"Alfred?" Selina said as she looked over at the old man who took care of Barbara, Helena, Dinah, and she supposes her now too.

"Yes Miss. Selina?" Alfred replied as he looked down at her with a warm smile.

"If this is New Gotham was there an old Gotham?" The girl asked. It had been just one of many questions on her young mind since coming to this city.

Alfred nodded as he replied, "Indeed there was. New Gotham was once, a very long time ago, simply Gotham."

"What happened to it?" The girl asked as she turned her attention from the Wayne family butler to the city around them.

"A massive earthquake destroyed most of the city." Alfred explained.

Selina looked a little disappointed. "Oh."

"Oh?" Alfred questioned with just the hint of a smile on his lips.

The little redhead shrugged. "I was expecting something a bit more… I don't know, just a bit more, I guess."

"Something a bit more legendary?" Alfred asked when Selina shrugged again. Selina nodded as she looked up at him again. "Well the earthquake was just the start of a very turbulent time for Gotham. A lot happened before Master Bruce and his cousin Miss. Kate could help rebuild the city into what we now call New Gotham." He gave the child a knowing look and added, "And I bet those are the legends you wish to hear yes? Well those stories, Miss. Selina, are best told at home."

"Because no one in New Gotham remembers them." Selina said with a bit of a frown. How does that happen? How does something, someone, like Batman and his allies and his foes turn fact to fiction in a single generation? "The capes and cowls and costumes I mean."

Alfred nodded.

They finished the week's shopping and were returning to the car when she felt it. It started as a prickling feeling between her shoulders that quickly exploded across her skin. Helena said it was part of her heightened senses, like a cat's natural instant when it came to danger or prey. Selina's soft green eyes shifted, taking on a more feline appearance and color. That's when she heard them, smelled them, but it was too late. She wasn't quick enough to warn Alfred before it all happened.

The van stopped and two men got out. One went for Alfred thinking the old man would be easy to subdue while the other grabbed the kid. A third man sat behind the wheel and waited to make their get away. It would soon become evident that easy was not going to factor into this. For Alfred it was his special royal military training and a lifetime as advisor and protector of his colony of bats and flock of birds that allowed him to fight off his would be attacker. For Selina it was instant, it was second nature, it was the reason for her birth that didn't give her nightmares. If she were a normal ten year old the kick to her attacker's knee would have done little but Selina wasn't a normal kid. She didn't break the man's kneecap but he would be limping for several days and it was enough to cause him to stumble, which allowed her to slip past him.

"Alfred!" She called as she ran towards him. Alfred was her friend. He was safe and kind and caring. "Leave him alone!" She cried out as she leapt at the man trying to hurt him. "Don't hurt him!"

She managed to knock the man back and slashed his face pretty good but he was trained as well and managed to grab hold of her. With the kid in his grasp he backed up towards the van with her struggling and fighting all the way.

"Miss. Selina!" Alfred called out just before the man Selina had kicked in the knee bashed him in the back of the head, knocking him out, and sending him smashing into the pavement.

"Alfred!" Selina roared. She began fighting harder. "I'm going to make you bleed for hurting him!" She smashed her head into the man's nose causing him to loosen his grip on her. She used his body to catapult herself towards the second man. She twisted so that when she hit him with both feet right in the chest, staggering him back. Once her feet were on the ground she kicked again, this time aiming right between his legs. Then she dashed over to Alfred. Dropping to her knees. "Alfred? Alfred wake up!" As she called out to him she also reached for the ring on his hand, the one that looked like the pendant on Helena and Dinah's necklaces, and squeezed it between her fingers. "It'll be ok Alfred. Helps coming."

The blow to the back of her head hurt like hell and then everything went dark.

It was broad daylight so Helena couldn't very well drop onto the scene as the Huntress. She had to walk up as Helena Kyle and argue with a uniformed cop. "Let me through!"

"Sorry ma'am I can't…" The cop began to say.

Helena growled.

"It's alright Lopez." Reese called out. "She's family. Let her pass."

Helena snarled at the cop before ducking under the police tape and making her way towards her on again off again currently off boyfriend. "What the hell happened? Where are they?"

"Alfred's on his way to New Gotham General." Reese explained as he moved her away from the gathered crowd of on lookers and cops. "From what I could gather from witnesses a nondescript dark van pulled up beside the car. Two men jumped out, there seemed to be a struggle, and both Alfred and Selina were knocked out."

"Where's Selina?" Barbara asked in Helena's ear. "Helena, ask him were Selina is?"

"You said Alfred's on the way to the hospital." Helena said as she fought the sudden physical need to tremble. "Where's the kid?"

Reese shook his head. He'd known them long enough now to know Barbara was listening. "I'm sorry, Barbara. They took her."

She knew this feeling; she'd felt it when Barbara and Leslie had drugged her. Her head hurt and she felt like she wanted to throw up. As she slowly regained consciousness Selina's instincts told her she was someplace unfamiliar. It was someplace warm, a little humid, smelled of earth and growing things. Flowers, she smelled fresh flowers, lemongrass, and sage, and she instantly relaxed.

There were voices coming from nearby. She didn't know the male voices but the woman. She knew that voice.

"You imbeciles!" The woman yelled. "I told you to be gentle with her! I told you not to cause a scene! You failed at doing both of those rather simple tasks!"

"She put up a fight, Boss." One of the men said. His voice was a bit off. It must have been the one she head butted in the nose. She must have broken it. Good.

"So did the old geezer." The other one added. "How was we suppose to know he wasn't as frail as he looked?"

"Yeah, but don't worry Boss." The first man said. "We took care of him."

Alfred. Selina's heart began to race. They'd hurt Alfred, badly. Was he all right? Was he alive? She'd activated his bat-ring but had Barbara gotten the signal in time?

"What you two morons did was abduct a child in front of witnesses!" The woman spat. "Not to mention the old man works for the Wayne family. Bruce Wayne might have blown this waste of a city but his name still carries weight here and you two clods assaulted his butler!"

There was a pause and then Selina heard a strange sound she couldn't place. It kind of sounded like creaking, like the sound tree branches make when the wind moves them.

"Boss?" The man's voice sounded panicked now. "Boss!"

"You're little public debacle aside." The woman said. "I warned you not to harm a single red hair on her head. I could forgive the first mistake. We'll be long gone before anyone can even figure out where to start looking for her. But you boys hurt my little sprout. That I can not, will not, forgive."

Sprout. If Selina's eyes were open they'd have gone wide. She knew who the woman was! "Red?"

In the past, back in the days of Gotham and Batman, Pamela Isley was better known as Poison Ivy. But just like all the others she'd been forgotten. Poison Ivy was just a myth, a story told to New Gotham's children. Pamela Isley however, like Harleen Quinzel, still existed and she walked in to the room moments after Selina had called out to her to find the girl struggling to sit up. She quickly went to the child's aid. "Easy now Sprout. You took a nasty knock to the head. I'm afraid you've got a bit of a concussion."

That's why the smell of flowers, lemongrass, and sage had relaxed her so easily. It was a familiar and comforting scent. "Aunt Red?"

Ivy smiled as she brushed at the little girl's hair. "Yes sweetheart, it's me, I'm here."

Before Selina could think she was throwing her arms around the woman and clinging to her as her eyes filled with tears.

Ivy held the girl tight and kissed the top of her head as she reassured her. "It's alright now, Sprout. You're safe. I'm here now sweetheart. Everything's going to be ok now sweetie. Auntie Ivy's here."

It wasn't Quinn. Barbara had called in a couple of markers and made damn sure that Harley Quinn was someplace secure and far, far away from her and her daughter. She'd done it to make sure Selina was safe, but she'd also done it because she still wasn't entirely sure she wouldn't cross the line and kill Quinn if they ever came face to face again. So Barbara knew that whoever took her little girl it wasn't Harley Quinn. So who the hell was it? Who had her little girl?

Dinah watched as Barbara moved around the Delphi system as if she had everything under control, but she'd known this woman since she was sixteen, lived with her, was raised and mentored by her. Dinah knew that Barbara was scared to death. Walking over to the woman who'd been the first person to embrace and welcome Dinah for who and what she was, she put a hand on Barbara's shoulder. When Barbara looked up at her Dinah said, "It'll be alright Barbara. We'll find her."

Before Barbara could reply to that the elevator doors open. She moved away from Dinah and Delphi to make her way down the ramp towards Helena as she helped Alfred into the lair. "Alfred." She said his name with a breath of relief. He had been in her life since she was a girl and the thought of losing him was not a thought she liked to dwell on. "I'm glad you're alright."

"Ms. Barbara." Alfred replied. The pain in his voice had nothing to do with any physical injury he was suffering. "I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault, Alfred." Barbara told him firmly. "There was an ATM nearby. I was able to get footage of what happened. You did everything you could to try and protect Selina. These men they were professionals."

"I should have tried harder." Alfred replied with anger and guilt lacing his voice.

"We're going to get her back Alfred." Barbara said as she took his hand in her own.

"Damn right we are." Helena added. She held up a bag. "Reese couldn't give us everything but he gave us what he could. Apparently the new commissioner is taking an active interest in this case. Not sure why though."

"She's an old friend." Barbara said as she took the bag. Without another word she headed towards her lab equipment to get started on testing the evidence. It wasn't common knowledge that she had a child. Her dad knew of course. He was still processing the fact that Barbara suddenly had a ten-year-old biological child she never knew she had until recently, and yet he was also completely over the moon at the thought of having a grandchild. He wanted to return to New Gotham right away to meet Selina but Barbara had talked him out of it. She wanted to give Selina more time to adjust before throwing more new people at her. He understood.

A handful of people at the New Gotham Police department knew. The new commissioner, Reese, and the hand picked few who'd handled Quinn's arrest and transport. Leslie Tompkins, and J'onn rounded off the list. Barbara had been very careful to keep the circle small. So small in fact that Selina's father didn't even know yet. Then again he wasn't around to find out. So, the question seemed to be was Selina taken because she was Barbara Gordon's daughter or was she taken because someone knew she had a connection to Batgirl or Oracle or Huntress? How would anyone even know that? Selina hadn't been with them long enough for anyone to know that. For the first ten years of her life Selina had been Little Harley. She'd been the 'daughter' of Harley Quinn. Who the hell knew what kind of element she'd been exposed to because of that association? Who the hell had Quinn allowed into her daughter's life?

"Did you know?" Selina asked the redhead dressed in green. Ivy sat across from her at the small table where she was nibbling on toast with blueberry jam and sipping tea made just the way she liked it.

"Did I know what, Sprout?" Ivy asked as she looked into Selina's eyes.

"What Harley had planned for me?" Selina replied. "That she was planning to kill me?"

Ivy's eyes went wide with shock. "No! Sprout that's not…"

"I heard her admit it." Selina told the woman she'd known all her life. Harley and Ivy had been friends, maybe even more, for as long as Selina could remember. Then one night they'd had a huge fight. Ivy had slipped into the room Selina had shared with her sister, with Duela, and whispered a tearful goodbye before leaving. Shortly after that Harley had moved them to New Gotham. "She was going to stab me in the heart to hurt people, to get back at them for what happened to the Joker."

"No." Ivy said, her voice quivering a little. "No, Sprout, I had no idea." She was silent for a moment and then added, "There's no way I could have known. I wouldn't have thought she… My Harley-girl would never have done something like that."

Selina watched the woman for a long moment before asking, "What happened? Why did you leave?"

Ivy sighed softly. "When Batman destroyed the Joker…"

"He's not dead." Selina cut in. "That was a lie Harley told us. He's in a special prison."

"I know." Ivy said softly. "But that's not the Joker in that prison. When Batman finally defeated him it broke the Joker, leaving him nothing more than a living shell. Harley, she was never the same after that. She became a completely different person, a different character all together, nothing like the bright, bouncy, silly psycho I knew."

Selina picked at her toast while her tea got cold. Looking up again she asked, "Did you know she wasn't my real mother?"

"Yes, that I knew." Ivy admitted. "Aside from the fact you looked nothing like her or the Joker, thank the goddess, I could see the subtle ways she treated you differently from Duela. But she was never cruel or mean to you and I guess a part of me thought she actually loved you."

"She didn't!" Selina snapped at the woman. "I was a tool, a toy!"

"Sprout." Ivy began but was cut off when the girl shook her head before speaking again.

"Did you know who my real mother was?" Selina demanded.

Ivy shook her head. "No, but I admit I had kind of hoped…" She gave a weak smile. "With the red hair and all…"

"Her name is Barbara Gordon." Selina said as she dropped her head to hide her tears.

"Gordon?" Ivy questioned. "Commissioner Gordon's daughter?"

Selina nodded. Several minutes passed before Selina looked up again. She stood up and moved over to Ivy, helping herself to the woman's familiar lap. "I know why you took me. I know you're trying to protect me and that you just want to take care of me because you care about me."

"I love you, Sprout, you know that." Ivy said as she held the girl. "I always have and I always will."

"I know." Selina said softly. "And I love you too and I'm glad you're here I missed you." She snuggled into Ivy. She, like Harley and Duela, had been given a vaccine that made it possible for her to be in close contact with Ivy safely. She was immune to the poison that made her Poison Ivy. "Aunt Red, I don't know what to do."

"What do you mean Sprout?" Ivy asked as she shifted Selina so she could look her in the face and stroke her cheek.

"Part of me wants to stay with you." Selina admitted. "But, but I think, I think I want to go back, but…"

"You're scared?" Ivy asked. "Of Gordon?"

"Not of her. No." Selina reassured. "She's nice. She's kind and understanding and, she actually loves me."

"I think I understand. She's your mother and you want to be with her." Ivy replied. Selina nodded. She was clearly hurt that Selina didn't want to be with her but she could understand, and all she wanted was for Selina to be safe and loved. "Are you sure?"

"No." The girl admitted. "But I do know I don't want you to get hurt or arrested and sent away. Barbara, she has friends, and she's going to come looking for me."

"I can protect myself, Sprout." Ivy said with a smile as she made the planets around them move and respond to her commands. "I can protect you."

"I know you can." Selina said with a warm smile of her own. "But you don't have too not from Barbara."

Ivy sighed softly. "I don't know, Sprout, if you're not sure…"

Selina bit her lip as she thought this through and then said, "You can always come back for me as long as you don't get caught."

"No, this can't be right." Barbara said as she pulled back from the microscope and blinked as if that would clear her vision of what she thought a mistake.

Dinah had been sent to take care of Alfred, which left Helena to prowl the lair while Barbara did her super nerd thing. As soon as the redhead spoke Helena was at her side. "What can't be right?"

"The particles they got off Alfred from the fight." Barbara began to explain. "Some of it was skin and blood from the guys he fought off. Well, there's a trace amount of a rare biological toxin in the samples."

"What kind of biological toxin?" Helena asked.

"A plant based toxin." Barbara replied. "One I've seen before but not in many, many years." She paused a moment, still unable to believe what she was seeing. Then she asked, "Do you remember the stories I told you about Poison Ivy?"

Helena got that look on her face, the one she always got when Barbara asked her questions like this. "She was one of Batman's bad guys, but didn't she flee the city after the earthquake and all the crap that came after that?"

Barbara nodded. "Ivy had the ability to control men using a plant based toxin that her body naturally produced. Bruce and Dick were always falling under her enthrall which usually left me to shut her down." Barbara couldn't stop herself from smirking. "Your mother helped me out a few times too. I think she got tired of Ivy kissing Bruce so much."

"You think she was controlling the goons who took Selina?" Helena questioned before Barbara could get to far into her memories.

"Looks that way." Barbara nodded.

"Ok so how do we found her?" Helena asked.

Barbara backed away from her lab table and headed for Delphi. "With experience she isn't counting on anyone having."

They were making their way through old Gotham national park. It was late but the moon gave them enough light to see by. With her eyes feline it might as well been midday for Selina rather than midnight. She held Ivy's hand as they made their way to the street. It wasn't an easy choice to make. Ivy was familiar and safe, comforting and caring, but the pull towards Barbara even with all the uncertainty was too strong. It would make things a little easier knowing Ivy was out there if she needed her, so she was going back. She would give Barbara Gordon a chance, at least for now.

Selina suddenly stopped and tugged on Ivy's hand for her to stop too. She sensed her, not in the same way she sensed danger because she wasn't dangerous, at least not to Selina. In fact she was quite the opposite for Selina, but that meant she was a major threat to Ivy so Selina moved in front of the woman.

"Sprout?" Ivy questioned.

"I told you Barbara had friends." Selina replied. "No! Don't hurt…"

Before Selina could finish her sentence a bat-a-rang came out of the darkness. It would have hit Ivy in the shoulder if she hadn't blocked it with a tree branch. "You didn't mention the friend was Batgirl, Sprout."

"Nice of you to remember me, Poison Ivy." Batgirl said as she stepped out of the shadows.

Ivy was focused on the blast from the past was in front of her, which meant she wasn't aware of what was coming up behind her. Selina however was. She leapt up and over Ivy just in time to stop Huntress' sneak attack. She blocked Helena's strike and then quickly pushed Ivy so she was behind her while Batgirl and Huntress were in front of her. The sudden shift in position had startled Ivy, which meant for moment she was too distracted to continue assaulting Batgirl with flora. "Stop!" Selina cried out. "Everyone just stop!"

"What the hell kid?" Huntress demanded.

"Selina?" Batgirl called out.

"I'm fine." She told them as she stood protectively in front of Ivy. "I'm alright. Aunt Red would never hurt me!"

"Aunt Red?" Huntress questioned.

"What's going on here?" Batgirl demanded.

"She was just trying to protect me, to help me." Selina explained. "She didn't know!" She cried out, afraid they would fight again. "She didn't know I was safe with my real mom. She was taking me home! She was taking me back to Barbara because that's where I want to be!"

"Selina." Batgirl said, her voice scolding and disbelieving and yet laced with relief to see that her little girl was all right. "She's…"

"Not who she use to be, Batgirl." Selina replied. "None of you are. So please, back down, leave her alone. Don't hurt her. Please, just let her go."

"We can't…" Batgirl began.

"For me!" Selina begged. "Please, for me just let her go. She didn't mean me or Barbara any harm."

"Yeah well tell that to Alfred." Huntress growled.

"The old man wasn't supposed to get hurt." Ivy said while thin vines wrapped around Batgirl and Huntress' ankles. "It's so hard to find good help these days. They don't make henchmen like they use too." She flashed a smug smirk at the pair, one Batgirl was all too familiar with, and that's when she realized Ivy was binding them. Ivy knew it wouldn't take her long to get out of the vines so she crouched down quickly to look into Selina's eyes. "Are you absolutely sure about this, Sprout?"

Selina nodded. "Yeah, Aunt Red, I'm sure. Go, please. Batgirl and Huntress will take me to Barbara. I'm safe with them. Please go, quickly."

Ivy nodded and hugged the girl. "Love you Sprout and remember if you ever need me."

"I know how to get in touch." Selina said as she hugged her back. "Love you too."

Selina stepped back from the woman but kept her eyes on her as she watched a wall of greenery sprout up, giving Ivy time to escape. She stood there a moment longer before wiping away a couple of tears. She was going to miss her Aunt Red. Then she turned on her heel to face her mother and her new aunt. She marched over to Batgirl and instantly put her hands on her hips. "You're wearing the suit." She huffed her at her. "Which means you're wearing the box. That thing hurts you!"

"She does that when old enemies come to town." Helena teased.

"Can we talk about this at home?" Barbara huffed as she struggled against the vines.

"They'll loosen once Red's safe." Selina told them.

Huntress glared at the girl. "You're awfully protective of a bad guy."

Selina shot her a glare of her own. "You're mother's Catwoman. You should understand. Red isn't like Harley."

"We really need to talk about who you know." Barbara said as the vines finally started to loosen.

"No one else who matters." Selina answered. "Red was family. Harley hurt her too."

That night once Selina was sure everyone was asleep she slipped out of her bed to put the seed pod Ivy had given her in her hidden duffle bag, the one she kept packed and ready just in case. It felt like she'd made the right choice to stay with Barbara rather than running with Ivy, but having the seed and knowing Ivy would be there if she needed her was comforting. Deciding not to crawl back into her bed Selina went down the hall to Barbara's room and climbed into hers.

"Selina?" Barbara whispered when she felt the girl slide in next to her. "Are you ok, sweetie?"

"Yeah." Selina replied. "I just, I wanted, I mean, I thought maybe you…"

Barbara smiled in the dark as she put her arm around the girl. "You thought right, baby. I needed you close by."

"Well here I am." Selina said.

"Yes." Barbara said as she thought about how Selina had chosen her. She'd been given the chance to run off, to be with someone she knew and trusted and felt comfortable with, but in the end Selina had chosen to be with her, to have a life with her. "Here you are, safe and sound with me."


End file.
